When I’m the person in authority, slowing down and being thorough is my job. It’s not optional. Whether you’re over an organization, you’re need to start by leading yourself well. When making life impacting decisions, slow down and be thorough. Hasty judgment makes for bad decisions that can have expensive repercussions.

O my son, O son of my womb, O son of my vows, do not waste your strength on women, on those who ruin kings. Proverbs 31:2,3

Occasionally, we see a good king who wants advice from godly counselors. However, most kings don’t take advice from anyone, except perhaps their mother.

Sometimes my sons accept advice from their mother that they won’t take from me or anyone else. Here, a king’s mother offers her son advice about women. Since she also is a woman, she must have been a noble, godly woman. Praise the mother who gives her sons...

Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted,
forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.

Ephesians 4: 32

It’s like God says, “Take a chill pill.”

Let go of bitterness and strife and all evil that wants to live inside you. Instead, be kind. It works much better. Tenderhearted—let go, life is easier this way. Forgive, forgive, forgive as much as you need. Those old thoughts will come back to haunt you again and again. And each time, forgive.

Long lay the world in sin and error pining
Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth

Truly He taught us to love one another
His law is love and His gospel is peace
Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother
And in His name all oppression shall cease.(From the hymn O Holy Night)

I hear many stories in our company of people who came to work for us just after they got out of prison or drug rehab, or who have had mental and emotional disorders and believe they’re unemployable....

You must teach these things and encourage the believers to do them.
Titus 2:15

Jesus said very few people will enter heaven. Only those who do the will of God will be there. Yet he never leaves us in the dark. God raises up men and women who have come through their own dark night, who now look to him for light, and point others to him.

Knowing God compels us to point others to him.

I’m not referring to people in leadership positions, who want others to look at them. They want people to think they are the light....

Do not contend with a man for no reason, when he has done you no harm.
Proverbs 3:30

I no longer want to live with the illusion that my life is my own.

Lord, I want you to search my heart. Let’s stop at the nearest altar and remove any chips from my shoulder. You know what they are, and I don’t need them. It’s too hard for me to be vulnerable while carrying them, and they prevent me from truly moving past my suffering.

Envy leads to a poor form of diversification, where we keep score of others (our...

Some people think it’s enough that they added information to themselves when they went to school. So they stopped adding. I meet these people every day. They bring impressive resumes, seeking high-paying jobs. I ask them what they’re doing now to grow themselves.

“I haven’t read a book or taken a class since I can’t remember when.”

But… but… but…, I think. Your resume tells us what you did. What are you doing now?

If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. Matthew 16:25

Who can know God? Those who learn to know themselves well and then surrender the self they know so well on God’s altar in grateful sacrifice. As they release their flesh into the flames, the image and character of Jesus forms in the midst of the flames of their burning flesh, transforming them into his likeness. He’s pleased as he begins to see his reflection.

Be inwardly transformed by the Holy Spirit through
a total reformation of how you think. Romans 12:2

Albert Einstein said, “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”

When we switched our company to Lean Manufacturing methods, we soon learned it wouldn’t be effective to apply the Lean practices unless we changed our way of thinking. This applies to most of life. If you want to learn a new language, you can memorize words and translate them back into English during the conversation. Or you can simply learn to think in the...

Does anyone want to live a lifethat is long and prosperous?
Then keep your tongue from speaking eviland your lips from telling lies!
Turn away from evil and do good.Search for peace, and work to maintain it.

I’ve used this passage as a clean, simple formula for living a good life:

We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God…totally committed to doing good deeds.
From Titus 2:12-14

Following Jesus is a conscious, daily choice. You must fully immerse yourself in study, practice, and hard work. You can’t afford to deceive yourself into thinking you’re a Christian because you were baptized, had an encounter with God, attend church, or read the Bible and other religious books.

You follow Jesus by following Jesus, not by taking religion classes and getting diplomas. Find connection with him and keep it. Eliminate everything hindering that way of life....

In the same way, encourage the young men to live wisely. And you yourself must be an example to them by doing good works of every kind. Let everything you do reflect the integrity and seriousness of your teaching. Teach the truth so that your teaching can’t be criticized. Then those who oppose us will be ashamed and have nothing bad to say about us.
Titus 2:6-8

Mervin wanted to live a plain and simple life. No cars. No power tools. No phones. He always caused rubs. He wanted us to change to become like him.

Everything is pure to those whose hearts are pure.
But nothing is pure to those who are corrupt and unbelieving,
because their minds and consciences are corrupted.
Such people claim they know God, but they deny him by the way they live.
They are detestable and disobedient, worthless for doing anything good.
Titus 1:15, 16

This one is a little long. I didn’t know how to make it shorter. If you read it, hope you find it worth your time.

Negative thinking was one wall I had to push through on my journey to overcoming manic depression. I took...

Slaves must always obey their masters and do their best to please them.
They must not talk back or steal but must show themselves to be entirely trustworthy and good.
Then they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive in every way.
Titus 2:9, 10

Many Christians believe slavery has ended. I’m slow ignoring something the Bible teaches until it’s clear I should. I think the Bible, rightly understood, is timeless and applies to every culture. Here is how I understand the above passage.

Forcing someone to work for me or structuring a workplace that makes people feel...

Slaves must always obey their masters and do their best to please them. They must not talk back or steal but must show themselves to be entirely trustworthy and good. Then they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive in every way.
Titus 2:9,10

Early in my business career I noticed how easy it was for people—including myself—to speak disrespectfully to and about our bosses or customers and take advantage of them whenever we could. It seemed like a constant push-pull relationship that probably was happening from both sides. Somewhere along the way I heard or...

The wilderness was the only home they knew for forty years. Slavery in Egypt was the only home their ancestors had known for four hundred years. They had no idea what a Promised Land was, not even in their dreams.

Joshua understood the wilderness, but he didn’t know how to move into a Promised Land. Joshua didn’t know much, but he knew the next steps God gave him:

Tell the people, “Purify yourselves.” Let go of the junk in your thoughts.

So when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him,
“Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?”
Acts 1:6

“Please pray that I can find a job.” I’ve heard this request in prayer meetings.

Secretly I pray, “Please don’t send him to us for a job.”

He’s not asking us to pray for God to change him or for someone to mentor him, so he can become worthy of a good job. He wants someone to hire him and hand him a paycheck, even if he’s not making a contribution.

Judas Iscariot was given one of the greatest callings the world has ever known. His name could have been written in history as a great force for bringing God’s kingdom to earth.

Instead, he became a Judas, a great betrayer. His greed blinded him from understanding the opportunity in front of him, and his greed took him down. God made his name famous, but not in the way anyone wants their name known.

When I’m the person in authority, slowing down and being thorough is my job. It’s not optional. Whether you’re over an organization, you’re need to start by leading yourself well. When making life impacting decisions, slow down and be thorough. Hasty judgment makes for bad decisions that can have expensive repercussions.

O my son, O son of my womb, O son of my vows, do not waste your strength on women, on those who ruin kings. Proverbs 31:2,3

Occasionally, we see a good king who wants advice from godly counselors. However, most kings don’t take advice from anyone, except perhaps their mother.

Sometimes my sons accept advice from their mother that they won’t take from me or anyone else. Here, a king’s mother offers her son advice about women. Since she also is a woman, she must have been a noble, godly woman. Praise the mother who gives her sons...

Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted,
forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.

Ephesians 4: 32

It’s like God says, “Take a chill pill.”

Let go of bitterness and strife and all evil that wants to live inside you. Instead, be kind. It works much better. Tenderhearted—let go, life is easier this way. Forgive, forgive, forgive as much as you need. Those old thoughts will come back to haunt you again and again. And each time, forgive.

Long lay the world in sin and error pining
Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth

Truly He taught us to love one another
His law is love and His gospel is peace
Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother
And in His name all oppression shall cease.(From the hymn O Holy Night)

I hear many stories in our company of people who came to work for us just after they got out of prison or drug rehab, or who have had mental and emotional disorders and believe they’re unemployable....

You must teach these things and encourage the believers to do them.
Titus 2:15

Jesus said very few people will enter heaven. Only those who do the will of God will be there. Yet he never leaves us in the dark. God raises up men and women who have come through their own dark night, who now look to him for light, and point others to him.

Knowing God compels us to point others to him.

I’m not referring to people in leadership positions, who want others to look at them. They want people to think they are the light....

Do not contend with a man for no reason, when he has done you no harm.
Proverbs 3:30

I no longer want to live with the illusion that my life is my own.

Lord, I want you to search my heart. Let’s stop at the nearest altar and remove any chips from my shoulder. You know what they are, and I don’t need them. It’s too hard for me to be vulnerable while carrying them, and they prevent me from truly moving past my suffering.

Envy leads to a poor form of diversification, where we keep score of others (our...

Some people think it’s enough that they added information to themselves when they went to school. So they stopped adding. I meet these people every day. They bring impressive resumes, seeking high-paying jobs. I ask them what they’re doing now to grow themselves.

“I haven’t read a book or taken a class since I can’t remember when.”

But… but… but…, I think. Your resume tells us what you did. What are you doing now?

If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. Matthew 16:25

Who can know God? Those who learn to know themselves well and then surrender the self they know so well on God’s altar in grateful sacrifice. As they release their flesh into the flames, the image and character of Jesus forms in the midst of the flames of their burning flesh, transforming them into his likeness. He’s pleased as he begins to see his reflection.

Be inwardly transformed by the Holy Spirit through
a total reformation of how you think. Romans 12:2

Albert Einstein said, “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”

When we switched our company to Lean Manufacturing methods, we soon learned it wouldn’t be effective to apply the Lean practices unless we changed our way of thinking. This applies to most of life. If you want to learn a new language, you can memorize words and translate them back into English during the conversation. Or you can simply learn to think in the...

Does anyone want to live a lifethat is long and prosperous?
Then keep your tongue from speaking eviland your lips from telling lies!
Turn away from evil and do good.Search for peace, and work to maintain it.

I’ve used this passage as a clean, simple formula for living a good life:

We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God…totally committed to doing good deeds.
From Titus 2:12-14

Following Jesus is a conscious, daily choice. You must fully immerse yourself in study, practice, and hard work. You can’t afford to deceive yourself into thinking you’re a Christian because you were baptized, had an encounter with God, attend church, or read the Bible and other religious books.

You follow Jesus by following Jesus, not by taking religion classes and getting diplomas. Find connection with him and keep it. Eliminate everything hindering that way of life....

In the same way, encourage the young men to live wisely. And you yourself must be an example to them by doing good works of every kind. Let everything you do reflect the integrity and seriousness of your teaching. Teach the truth so that your teaching can’t be criticized. Then those who oppose us will be ashamed and have nothing bad to say about us.
Titus 2:6-8

Mervin wanted to live a plain and simple life. No cars. No power tools. No phones. He always caused rubs. He wanted us to change to become like him.

Everything is pure to those whose hearts are pure.
But nothing is pure to those who are corrupt and unbelieving,
because their minds and consciences are corrupted.
Such people claim they know God, but they deny him by the way they live.
They are detestable and disobedient, worthless for doing anything good.
Titus 1:15, 16

This one is a little long. I didn’t know how to make it shorter. If you read it, hope you find it worth your time.

Negative thinking was one wall I had to push through on my journey to overcoming manic depression. I took...

Slaves must always obey their masters and do their best to please them.
They must not talk back or steal but must show themselves to be entirely trustworthy and good.
Then they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive in every way.
Titus 2:9, 10

Many Christians believe slavery has ended. I’m slow ignoring something the Bible teaches until it’s clear I should. I think the Bible, rightly understood, is timeless and applies to every culture. Here is how I understand the above passage.

Forcing someone to work for me or structuring a workplace that makes people feel...

Slaves must always obey their masters and do their best to please them. They must not talk back or steal but must show themselves to be entirely trustworthy and good. Then they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive in every way.
Titus 2:9,10

Early in my business career I noticed how easy it was for people—including myself—to speak disrespectfully to and about our bosses or customers and take advantage of them whenever we could. It seemed like a constant push-pull relationship that probably was happening from both sides. Somewhere along the way I heard or...

The wilderness was the only home they knew for forty years. Slavery in Egypt was the only home their ancestors had known for four hundred years. They had no idea what a Promised Land was, not even in their dreams.

Joshua understood the wilderness, but he didn’t know how to move into a Promised Land. Joshua didn’t know much, but he knew the next steps God gave him:

Tell the people, “Purify yourselves.” Let go of the junk in your thoughts.

So when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him,
“Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?”
Acts 1:6

“Please pray that I can find a job.” I’ve heard this request in prayer meetings.

Secretly I pray, “Please don’t send him to us for a job.”

He’s not asking us to pray for God to change him or for someone to mentor him, so he can become worthy of a good job. He wants someone to hire him and hand him a paycheck, even if he’s not making a contribution.

Judas Iscariot was given one of the greatest callings the world has ever known. His name could have been written in history as a great force for bringing God’s kingdom to earth.

Instead, he became a Judas, a great betrayer. His greed blinded him from understanding the opportunity in front of him, and his greed took him down. God made his name famous, but not in the way anyone wants their name known.